John Bowlby's Attachment Theory

Improved Essays
Attachment Theory

Intro
Since the 1950’s John Bowlby’s seminal work on attachment theory has been developed and expanded greatly in both it’s original scientific merits as well as its applicability to clinical work (Schore 2007). Originally developed during a period of behaviorism today’s modern attachment theory is integral to clinicians conducting psychoanalysis, learning psychopathology, or using the biopsychosocial model in general (Schore 2007).
History
John Bowlby is known as the “father of modern attachment theory” (Brandell 2007). In the 1930’s John Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist in the Child Guidance Clinic in London, where he treated many emotionally disturbed children. This experience led Bowlby to consider the importance of
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Environmental anxieties to be a function of evolutionary history.
Spitz movie Mexican Fondling Home where nutrition and medical care was good but home did not have adequate staffing. Physical survival was insufficient for a baby to
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First methodically sound scientific experiment offering proof that affectional ties are not based on nursing. Bowlby concluded that the need for attachment and emotional nurturing is more powerful than the need for food.
Piaget’s Cognitive theory: Piaget’s exploration and mastery complemented Bowlby’s attachment theory. Need for proximity to the caregiver was activated by fear and threat and mastery and exploration were activated when the child felt secure. Ainsworth clearly observed the same in Uganda and Baltimore. Bowlby believed parents who are nurturing and attuned to an infant’s needs enable the child to feel securely attached and at same time curious about the environment and engage in exploratory behavior. Unlike social learning theorists who saw dependency as a pathological trait, Bowlby differientiated attachment as a normal and healthy need of both children and adults, from dependency.
James Robertson: Assistant and Social Worker, observed
Mary Ainsworth: Collaborator, experimental methods (Uganda/Baltimore) enabled her to test Bowlby’s ideas…developed types of attachment
Mary Main: Developed insecure disorganized

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